Intersectionality and the emerging majority student: negotiating identity in the liminalities of the university environment

ABSTRACT

Students at the intersection of social, political, and economic struggles must often forge new paths to make college entrance possible, even as dominant social narratives predict their failure. Faculty and administration endeavor to engage this emerging majority population and devote valuable time and resources to support structures meant to foster belonging and a sense of community. This article provides insight into the liminality of the university environment for this population and the communicative processes of college student identity development. Analysis reveals identity construction processes through the liminal practices of experimentation, reflection, and recognition are successful and complex, as students discursively position themselves as college students. Implications for intersectional research and liminality as space for possibility are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• intersectionality
• liminal practices
• emerging majority
• belonging
• discursive positioning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Note

Jayne R. Goode (University of Missouri, 2010) is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Basic Course at Governors State University. Jelena Radovic-Fanta (University of California, Riverside, 2012) is an Associate Professor in the Anthropology and Sociology program at Governors State University. Sayoni Bose (Ohio State University, 2015) is an Associate Professor of Non-Western Geography at Governors State University. The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their insights and suggestions. Please direct all correspondence concerning this paper to Jayne R. Goode, [email protected].